A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam.
At least 144 people have been killed on Friday in Myanmar, where photos and videos from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage.
At least nine died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.
The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.
The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries.
It is embroiled in a civil war, and information is tightly controlled.
The head of Myanmar’s military government said in a televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said.
Photos from the capital of Naypyidaw showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble.
Myanmar's government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Images of buckled and cracked roads in Mandalay and damaged highways, as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam, raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis.
The World Health Organization says it expects 'many, many injuries that need to be dealt with' and that it would concentrate on getting in essential medicines.
Earthquake-prone area
Near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, a 33-storey building under construction, with a crane on top, crumpled into a cloud of dust, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media.
The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok, and vehicles filled the streets, leaving some of the city’s already congested streets gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down.
While the area where the quake struck is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so big, and it is rare for them to be felt in the Thai capital, which sits on a river delta and is at moderate risk for quakes.
April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok, initially didn’t even realize it was an earthquake, the first she’d ever experienced. “I just thought I was dizzy,” she said.
She and her colleagues ran downstairs from the 10th floor of their building and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in.
Crane-topped building collapsed in a cloud of dust
In Bangkok, at least three people were killed in the building collapse, and 90 were missing, according to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. He offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts, but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from the area.
At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. The building was being built by the China Railway Construction Corporation for Thailand’s government auditor general.
Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks.
The tremors caused a skyscraper collapse in Bangkok, trapping 43 people, and the destruction of a monastery and mosque in Myanmar, claiming numerous lives, with rescue operations underway in both countries.
